


Showstopper

by greerwatson



Category: The Great British Bake Off RPF
Genre: Cats, Cooking, Gen, Holidays, Pumpkins, Witches
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-24
Updated: 2017-10-24
Packaged: 2019-01-22 16:32:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12485976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greerwatson/pseuds/greerwatson
Summary: For Holiday Week, contestants bake Halloween-themed cakes for the final round.





	Showstopper

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mlraven](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mlraven/gifts).



It was Holiday Week.  Yesterday, they had baked three Christmas favourites, and Paul’s recipe for a heart-shaped Valentine’s hazelnut meringue with whipped cream and strawberries.

Today, each contestant had baked a centrepiece cake with a Halloween theme.

“Time’s up!” cried Mel; and there were the inevitable last-second swipes and tweaks.  “Hands off the cake,” urged Sue.

Andy had baked a pumpkin-and-spice jack o’ lantern, a large orange-iced globe which he could only hope was fancy enough for Paul to approve.  Aisha’s witches’ cauldron was filled with green jelly which—regrettably—hadn’t set properly: more time or more gelatine, she supposed; but she knew what the judges were going to think.  Fay’s cat held a striped surprise under its black icing: an orange roulade with dark chocolate filling.  Rajiv had used a pistachio cake as the base for his witch’s hat, also iced in black, with a heavy hand on the paste colour.

He carried it up to the front, and placed it in front of Paul and Mary with pride.

“Interesting,” Paul said.  “I like the buckle.  Sugarwork, eh?  You’ve got the shape perfectly.  What did you use for the hat band?”

“Hang on,” said Mary as he reached for a knife to cut into the cake.  “I just—”  She frowned.  “There’s something—”  She hesitated, tilting her head slightly, looking down at the cake.

Knife poised, Paul looked at her.

Raising her eyes, Mary looked round the room.  Her frown deepened.  “I think someone’s added something they shouldn’t.”  Then, she whipped up her left hand and, in the air, sketched the shape of an oven with her forefinger.

“What on earth?” exclaimed Paul.

The cauldron bubbled.  The pumpkin blinked its eyes.  The cat snarled, and reached out to rake Fay’s hand with slivered almond claws.

Mel turned to Sue, who raised her brow.

Still holding the knife, Paul dropped his eyes to the cake in front of him.

The witch’s hat was tilting impossibly backwards.  A green face appeared underneath and looked up, straight into his eyes.  It opened its mouth.  “Eat ME, will you?” it cackled, spitefully.

“Now, that’s a showstopper!”


End file.
